Forty-two consecutive patients with aortic stenosis were evaluated by pre and postoperative echocardiography and cardiac catheterization. Concentric left ventricular (LV) wall thickening occurred in 95% of patients; by 6 months postop LV wall thickness had decreased from a mean of 15.4 mm to 14.0 mm, but along with LV mass, had not returned to normal. Further echo measurements in 13 patients (mean 37 months postop) were unchanged compared to 6 month data. Mean fractional shortening (%FS) was unchanged by operation (34.3% preop vs 32.7 postop). Those with reduced %FS preop did not improve postop. Of the 42 patients, one operative and 5 late (avg follow-up equals 4.5 yrs) cardiac deaths have occurred. None were related to congestive heart failure, and, unlike aortic regurgitation, no echo or hemodynamic parameter was predictive of these deaths.